Constructing better agreements for sustainable development

After five and a half years of negotiations, the Barack Obama administration concluded the most ambitious free trade deal of the postwar era on October 5, 2015. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a comprehensive accord that encompasses provisions on lowering barriers to trade and investment in goods and services and also covers critical new issues such as digital trade, state-owned enterprises, intellectual property rights, regulatory coherence, labor, and environment. Like all trade pacts, the TPP elicited praise and criticism from economic interests in the United States and the other 11 participating countries.

Other Research

Multilateralising Telecoms: A Step-Change in Need of a Step?

February 2, 2018

In the rapidly developing digital economy, where user-generated content is on the rise, and end-users are no longer just consuming content, but also developing, uploading, and networking content, t... READ MORE

The Digital Transformation and the Transformation of International Trade

January 23, 2018

The digital transformation has facilitated old modes of trade and business models and enabled the creation of entirely new ones. Digital disruption is being felt across all modes of trade: digital... READ MORE